Cambodia, Viet Nam, Laos boost legal cooperation

Cambodia Supreme Court President Chiv Keng (R) meets Supreme People’s Court of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam President Nguyen Van Quang in Phnom Penh on Friday. Ministry of Information

Cambodia, Viet Nam and Laos have pledged deeper legal alignment to tackle escalating transnational offences, closing their biennial border summit with a unified push against drug trafficking and cyber scams, according to officials.

Meeting in the capital on Friday for the 8th Conference of Courts of Border Provinces, senior magistrates from the three nations set out coordinated strategies to manage rising cross-border litigation, judicial leaders said.

Official figures released during the talks revealed that Cambodia recorded 1,355 cross-border criminal files linked to its neighbours between 2024 and 2026, resulting in 2,119 arrests, the Supreme Court stated. Drug offences and technology-enabled fraud formed the bulk of the caseload, authorities added.

Cambodia’s Supreme Court President Chiv Keng led the discussions alongside Viet Nam’s Supreme People’s Court Chief Justice Nguyen Van Quang and the People’s Supreme Court of Laos President Phayvi Sipholipha.

Delegates agreed to streamline mechanisms for transmitting judicial documents and verifying cross-border evidence, according to the joint declaration. The framework aims to accelerate prosecutions while maintaining sovereign legal protocols, organisers said.

Beyond criminal matters, the delegations prioritised commercial dispute resolution to safeguard investor confidence and foster regional trade along shared frontiers, participants noted. Capacity building, digital transformation within court systems, and natural resource protection rounded out the agenda, officials stated.

The summit concluded with the unanimous adoption of a joint declaration formalising cross-border judicial collaboration, according to the court.

Source: Khmer Times